I left SMART before Phase 2. I had a phd in electrical engineering an an offer from the army for a gs-11 ($57k at the time).

I went to a contractor developing technology that will be fielded by the next generation warfighter... today's tech is too old to be wasting brain cells on. I started at $110k/year. 5 years in and I'm not a gs-14, but I'm telling gs-15s what they should be spending their program dollars on and routinely briefing ses and 1 and 2 stars on future technology. I have better benefits than the civilian army employees, and a better work-life balance than anyone at my old sponsor facility.

Leaving smart was the best decision I could have ever made. For the highly educated, dod is just not a great employer (great customer though...).

Guest wrote:Some perspective for the Army GS-14 who keeps telling us his salary.

I left SMART before Phase 2. I had a phd in electrical engineering an an offer from the army for a gs-11 ($57k at the time).

I went to a contractor developing technology that will be fielded by the next generation warfighter... today's tech is too old to be wasting brain cells on. I started at $110k/year. 5 years in and I'm not a gs-14, but I'm telling gs-15s what they should be spending their program dollars on and routinely briefing ses and 1 and 2 stars on future technology. I have better benefits than the civilian army employees, and a better work-life balance than anyone at my old sponsor facility.

Leaving smart was the best decision I could have ever made. For the highly educated, dod is just not a great employer (great customer though...).

For those people that want an easy paycheck the DOD is a wonderful employer

Guest wrote:Some perspective for the Army GS-14 who keeps telling us his salary.

I left SMART before Phase 2. I had a phd in electrical engineering an an offer from the army for a gs-11 ($57k at the time).

I went to a contractor developing technology that will be fielded by the next generation warfighter... today's tech is too old to be wasting brain cells on. I started at $110k/year. 5 years in and I'm not a gs-14, but I'm telling gs-15s what they should be spending their program dollars on and routinely briefing ses and 1 and 2 stars on future technology. I have better benefits than the civilian army employees, and a better work-life balance than anyone at my old sponsor facility.

Leaving smart was the best decision I could have ever made. For the highly educated, dod is just not a great employer (great customer though...).

Different strokes for different folks. First, this is the "OFFICIAL POST YOUR PAY THREAD," so it seems odd that you make it seem weird to "keep telling us his salary." I'm trying to provide information for prospective candidates of this program, in part to counterbalance all the negative information given by people on this forum. I am one of a few dozen SMART Scholars at my SF who are all very successful and very happy. It seems like people would want to know both sides. I'm sorry your experience didn't work out so well. I'd like to reference my other post on the forum to give you more of my perspective.

Guest wrote:There are many people unhappy with their jobs and many who are. The unhappy ones are the ones who post on here. I'm particularly happy because of three reasons.

1. I work for a facility that does actual research, almost completely in-house, and I've been given latitude, trust, and resources to build whatever research program I want as long as I can connect it to actual public need. I'm on track to get my GS15 in about a year and a half and already starting discussions on my path to ST. I have more influence on national R&D in my field by virtue of my position with the DoD than any single academic professor in the world. I chair international committees on advancing my field and sharing technology. When I speak at any level of my Agency, people listen and consider my input. Part of that is my personal skillset and passion, and part of it is the opportunities afforded me by my SF. I make less than my academic colleagues, but not much less and they work way harder than I do chasing after NSF scraps. I harness funds directed from congress to advance R&D and end up with so much money its sometimes difficult to figure out how to spend it all appropriately.2. I don't owe a dime to anyone for my PhD, and I made upwards of $60K during the three years of my Phase 1.3. I would never have considered working for the DoD if not forced to by this program. I'm extremely happy with my position and opportunities and am not considering leaving ever.

Having said all that, I don't think the program had anything to do with 1 or 3, not really. It was all luck and my choosing a good SF to put on my application. Honestly, even the one that selected me didn't research what they said on their website, so I got a job researching something completely outside my (then) interest areas. I just happened upon a great SF with a great branch chief and a lot of opportunity to contribute to an emerging research area. I recognize most people don't fall into a luck puddle like I did. But, DoD service is largely what you make of it and you can always move around within the DoD until you find what you're looking for.

To the easy paycheck person, I probably put in 50-60 hours a week and travel 25% of the time. If that's easy then I'm glad I'm not married to you.

Do you mind if I contact you about DoD research? I'm going into a three year Phase 2 commitment next June with my BS/MS program funded through SMART, but it is a non-research position. Mainly I'm just wondering how to best set myself up for doing research in the future. An email you can reach me at is whenwework at gmail dot com.

Guest wrote:Some perspective for the Army GS-14 who keeps telling us his salary.

I left SMART before Phase 2. I had a phd in electrical engineering an an offer from the army for a gs-11 ($57k at the time).

I went to a contractor developing technology that will be fielded by the next generation warfighter... today's tech is too old to be wasting brain cells on. I started at $110k/year. 5 years in and I'm not a gs-14, but I'm telling gs-15s what they should be spending their program dollars on and routinely briefing ses and 1 and 2 stars on future technology. I have better benefits than the civilian army employees, and a better work-life balance than anyone at my old sponsor facility.

Leaving smart was the best decision I could have ever made. For the highly educated, dod is just not a great employer (great customer though...).

Different strokes for different folks. First, this is the "OFFICIAL POST YOUR PAY THREAD," so it seems odd that you make it seem weird to "keep telling us his salary." I'm trying to provide information for prospective candidates of this program, in part to counterbalance all the negative information given by people on this forum. I am one of a few dozen SMART Scholars at my SF who are all very successful and very happy. It seems like people would want to know both sides. I'm sorry your experience didn't work out so well. I'd like to reference my other post on the forum to give you more of my perspective.

Guest wrote:There are many people unhappy with their jobs and many who are. The unhappy ones are the ones who post on here. I'm particularly happy because of three reasons.

1. I work for a facility that does actual research, almost completely in-house, and I've been given latitude, trust, and resources to build whatever research program I want as long as I can connect it to actual public need. I'm on track to get my GS15 in about a year and a half and already starting discussions on my path to ST. I have more influence on national R&D in my field by virtue of my position with the DoD than any single academic professor in the world. I chair international committees on advancing my field and sharing technology. When I speak at any level of my Agency, people listen and consider my input. Part of that is my personal skillset and passion, and part of it is the opportunities afforded me by my SF. I make less than my academic colleagues, but not much less and they work way harder than I do chasing after NSF scraps. I harness funds directed from congress to advance R&D and end up with so much money its sometimes difficult to figure out how to spend it all appropriately.2. I don't owe a dime to anyone for my PhD, and I made upwards of $60K during the three years of my Phase 1.3. I would never have considered working for the DoD if not forced to by this program. I'm extremely happy with my position and opportunities and am not considering leaving ever.

Having said all that, I don't think the program had anything to do with 1 or 3, not really. It was all luck and my choosing a good SF to put on my application. Honestly, even the one that selected me didn't research what they said on their website, so I got a job researching something completely outside my (then) interest areas. I just happened upon a great SF with a great branch chief and a lot of opportunity to contribute to an emerging research area. I recognize most people don't fall into a luck puddle like I did. But, DoD service is largely what you make of it and you can always move around within the DoD until you find what you're looking for.

To the easy paycheck person, I probably put in 50-60 hours a week and travel 25% of the time. If that's easy then I'm glad I'm not married to you.

- "Army GS14 person"

Depends on your facility really, I know a ton of people that work 40 hrs 9-5 and get their paycheck so to me that's easy money

Made NH-03 after two years, pay is now $79,644 (equivalent to a GS-12 Step 01). Also got converted to a competitive, Career Conditional appointment.

What was your major ?

Electrical Engineering, but my billet is Electronics Engineer, and my work is a mixture of Test Engineering and Field Support Engineering on my assigned systems. Gives a good mix of getting out with units, messing with my systems in the lab, and getting time to work on side projects. Also has the added benefit of knowing my work is having a direct impact on the fleet.

I was hired as a GG11 step 1 in 2014, with the understanding that I was bring hired into a GG13 billet and would be noncompetitively promoted once per year based strictly on my performance. Unfortunately that same year, a major budget crunch hit. After that, "noncompetitive" got reinterpreted by a national-level leadership that watched the Hunger Games and thought it would make a great HR strategy. They instituted tiny promotion quotas and after almost three years I'm still a GG11.

On the other hand, my commitment has expired and frankly the defense contractor job market for STEM types with clearances is so good that essentially by accident I got an offer that doubled my salary. I will thus shortly be leaving government employment. Which I genuinely have mixed feelings about - my SF is an extremely interesting, enjoyable, and (by government standards) caring place to work. If pay had been even remotely competitive with the rest of the market, I'd have probably stayed several more years.

I am applying this year and will be pursuing a PhD in Phyics. I am curious what your area of research was for your PhD and if it applied to your work at your SF?

Don't forget that if you currently attend a private college as an undergrad, tuition alone is almost $60K That, plus the $25K stipend, the $2K+ for books/health ins,and the approx $10K for summer internship adds up to a salary of over $90K per year paid by SMART while just a student during college! Amazing deal for any student, regardless of level. Add those benefits to the starting salary after graduation to evaluate the true, total salary income from the SMART program.

guest121 wrote:Graduated from a top 5 university with a high GPA, on the DB pay scale Im at a DB 02 with school performance boost.

Was it an Ivy? (I'm just concerned abut my future pay with a bachelors and I didn't know this adjustment for top schools existed.)

It depends on your SF's HR department. I graduated from a top 5 school as well with a 4.0 for my undergrad and grad degrees. No extra adjustment for where my degree was from nor GPA. Speak with your supervisor and/or HR department during the hiring process - some negotiate, others give your supervisor a small pay band they can negotiate with you. It really just depends. Some may give you a slightly higher offer if they are on a demo/pay band system of you have research work in a useful area.

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